Side Stories: Be Forever Yorozuya
by yuzu-cha
Summary: They never thought of going their separate ways, and this is where their paths will lead them on this five-year journey. Various side-stories taking place within the second movie-verse. Chapter 5: "What is the meaning of this?" "It's Gintoki's gravestone. What else does it look like to you?"
1. Chapter 1

**a/n:** Contains spoilers (minor for this chapter) for those who haven't watched the movie.

* * *

**Chapter 1 - Shelter (Sougo x Kagura)**

Okita Sougo stood in front of his closet for about a full ten seconds before he gave the door a good kick.

"Oi, this isn't a boarding house you know."

In response to his kick and comment, a loud knock came from the other side of the door. Not quite satisfied with the answer, Sougo reached for the handle of his closet door. He only managed to slide the door open about two inches, and he caught a flash of red and blue before the occupant had slammed it back shut on him.

A muffled voiced finally answered him from inside his closet.

"Shut up! I'll be gone in the morning anyway!"

A short moment later, Sougo found himself sitting down and leaning against the wall beside his closet door. The sliding door on the other end of his room was open, giving him a glimpse of the sky, which looked so much darker in the light, or lack of it thereof, due to the new moon tonight.

"Why didn't you go running to your boss lady's in the first place?"

There was no answer, and although one may think that the occupant inside the closet had fallen asleep, Sougo had known better. In spite of their differences, he knew the girl well enough to know that she was still moping in silence. It was the same pattern every night for this past week since she decided to take refuge in his closet.

"China."

"Shinpachi and I decided we'll run the Yorozuya our own ways. I didn't want _anego_ to get involved with our own problems."

"So you think it's a better idea to get _me_ involved instead?"

The door rattled next to him, "You're the sadist here! I'm sure you're getting a kick out of this anyway!"

He smirked, "You sure know me well."

"Oi, Sougo!"

The sandy-haired man looked up and saw the Shinsengumi Vice Captain standing on the other side of open door way. The uniform he usually wore was replaced today by a plain black yukata; a half-finished cigarette between his fingers.

"Yo Hijikata-san, sleepwalking this late at night? Better watch out not to choke on your cigarette."

Toshiro scoffed, "I'm sure you'd like to see that happen. If you're going to keep sleep talking to yourself this late at night, you should at least have the decency to close the door."

The dark-haired man stared intently at Sougo's closet door, and after a minute, he slid the door shut and left. When another full minute had passed, a soft sigh of relief came from his closet.

"Sadist! Why didn't you close the door?"

_Because it wouldn't matter. Everyone in the Shinsengumi knows that you're sleeping in my closet anyway. And out of the goodness of my heart, I decided not to tell you or you'll never come back here again. __**He **__wouldn't have wanted that._

"I didn't think anyone would be up at this time." He replied.

* * *

_"Danna, that's impossible. We don't even get along. Why would she even come to me for help in the first place?"_

_It had been very sudden, when the Yorozuya boss asked to meet with him. It vaguely reminded of Sougo of a similar meeting that happened long ago, back when his sister had still been alive and coming to visit him in Edo. And now, it was the silver-haired man's turn to make his strange request._

_Sougo frowned when Gintoki didn't answer him. It unsettled him that the man sitting before him was so quiet, his strawberry parfait untouched._

_"Danna, are you leaving to go somewhere?"_

_There was a rustle, and Sougo felt a strong, yet weary hand rest on his shoulder._

_"I'm counting on you alright? Thanks Okita-kun."_

_He felt the pat on the shoulder and then there was nothing._

* * *

That had been the last time Sougo (or anyone, as far as he knew) had seen Sakata Gintoki. And just as the latter had predicted, about three months had passed before he found a moping Kagura in his closet one night, seven days ago. Every night since, he'd notice her presence in there whenever he returned to his room after dinner. She'd only stay inside his closet during the night; it was just a place for her to sleep. And true to her earlier words, she'd be gone in the morning.

The only evidence of her presence would just be her lingering scent that remained on his extra futon that he kept in there. Although it made him frown, it wasn't unpleasant enough for him to get his closet cleaned out.

"Why are you even talking to me?"

Her voice had broken his train of thoughts.

"Hm?"

As an afterthought, he found his response rather uncharacteristic of himself, but he decided to ignore it.

"I thought you would have kicked me out the moment you found me here, but you just closed the door and left me alone... why did you talk to me all of a sudden after this long?"

Why indeed. When the Yorozuya boss had asked him to help the girl if she ever sought him out, the very fact that he was currently housing her in his closet should have sufficed. Sougo could have just ignored her for however long she wanted to stick around.

Perhaps, he just hadn't expected find her _here_ of all places; that's why he didn't say anything that first night. There were plenty of places for her to hide in, yet she chose to come here. In the period of time that Sougo didn't say anything to her, he was able to think it over. It was only tonight when he came to a conclusion. That there really was no other place left for her to go, not without being worried over like an orphaned child. This place had been the safest choice for her.

That's why he spoke to her tonight.

"Well?"

Sougo smiled to himself, "I thought you would've appreciated the company."

"I—"

The voice from inside stopped when Sougo got up on his feet.

"Just go to sleep China."

And in the midst of the night while Sougo was "sleeping" on his futon, he heard a soft "thank you" from the other side of his closet. He simply smiled, but decided he would spare his rival the embarrassment by saying anything.

* * *

**a/n: **I actually don't know how or where this idea came about. Originally I was in the middle of writing something GinTae and then this happened. It might have been from watching both the movie and then a random scene in the anime of Kagura and her closet... and then the story wrote itself. This will be the start of a series of random side-stories depicting different characters' lives in this movie-verse, and they don't necessary have to be related to each other... but we'll see. But being an OkiKagu fan, there will be more of them showing up, I think.

12/31 - Edited to add a few more details.


	2. Chapter 2

**a/n: **This was the original fic I started writing before "Shelter" took over. A little break from OkiKa.

* * *

**Chapter 2 - Lamentation (Gintoki x Tae)**

Hattori Zenzou closed the issue of JUMP he had in his hands and placed it besides him.

"You can come in, you know."

The _shoji_ door slid open, and a cloaked man stepped in before sliding the door shut behind him.

It was a small, enclosed room, not meant for huge meetings, but suitable for the current situation. Aside from the low table, the only other thing that decorated the wall was the calligraphy hanging on one of the walls with the kanji "endure"—the same kanji used in _ninja_ or _shinobi_—written on it. And sitting in front of him, on the low table, was a beige-colored envelope, about the size of his favorite magazine cover.

His guest took a seat on his opposite side, and took off the straw hat, revealing a head of silvery-white hair.

"Is all that really necessary?" Zenzou asked, eyeing the large golden beads and wards decorating the cloak. Last time they'd met, there had been wards wrapped around his neck and arms underneath the cloak. This seemed like a little too much. Even the staff he carried looked outrageous.

The other man placed said-staff down besides him, opposite of the JUMP magazine, "I always thought they wanted to make some kind of cultist statement with their outfits, but it appears that it served some purpose. It keeps things at bay, and if I don't take these measures, I'll lose control of my mind and all of Edo would be wiped out in three nights."

Drastic measures indeed, soon enough, he'll have his entire face covered with the same wards judging from the tell-tale curse markings that appeared to be spreading past his jawline.

"Have you found any more leads?"

"It's nothing that you don't know already."

"A dead end again then."

"Pretty much, but that's expected considering that you and your buddies supposedly wiped out every last one of them fifteen years ago. There's only so much information you can get in four and half years. I even collaborated with Sakamoto Tatsuma and the Kaientai like you had suggested so that we could gather information from other planets—don't worry, he doesn't know you're involved. We've done all we can."

_But it didn't bring an end to their curse._

_People are still dying to the plague._

_Those two idiots are still running around aimlessly._

The silver-haired man sighed as he stood up, "Looks like I'll have to change gears then."

The ninja glanced up at the samurai, "What do you plan on doing?"

"I'm going to go look for the old man Gengai. I asked him to do something for me last time. I heard he's locked up in prison, so that saves me the time and trouble of tracking him down."

"Wait, Gintoki."

The man, who was about to put his hat back on, stopped in his tracks. He watched as Zenzou reached out to push the beige envelope towards him.

"Here, I think you should see this."

Placing his hat back down again, Gintoki retrieved the item. He hesitated at first, but eventually, he opened the envelope and took out its contents. Inside was a single photograph. Silver brows were furrowed in confusion.

"Who—"

The change was instant and Zenzou saw that the man standing before him had turned a very pale shade of white as his words died from his mouth, swallowed by an inaudible gasp. And perhaps it was the silvery-white of his hair, or the uncharacteristically dark coloring of his cloak, but it made his face that much whiter—like the very essence of the White Plague that was affecting Edo.

The photograph slipped from the samurai's hand and landed on the table, in front of the ninja. Upon seeing the white crown of hair on the youthful face, Zenzou was reminded of just how horrible the nature of this disease was. There was no mercy for the young or old, male or female, weak or strong.

"She—when—"

The ninja knew there were so many thoughts and questions running through the samurai's mind right now, and it probably took all he had from running out of the room, or destroying something.

"Shimura Tae was admitted into the Oedo Hospital a week ago. It appears that she had shown initial signs of being infected three years ago, but because nothing else occurred for a while aside from those couple strands of white hair, she brushed it aside and thought it was just simply due to stress."

_Three years? Was it really that long ago?__  
_

_How could he have been affected for that long? _

"Last week, she collapsed in her home and her brother rushed her to the hospital. She's a rare case since they haven't came across a single patient who lived beyond two months after showing the initial symptoms. It was only within the past three days did her symptoms rapidly advanced to her current stage."

Which was a blessing in disguise. The doctors thought that she might have been the source of the White Plague, or even had resistance towards it. They would have started doing all sorts of experiments and tests on her to find a vaccine or cure. If she hadn't succumbed to the final stages so soon, something else would have probably killed her.

"But she is starting to show signs of blindness," Zenzou continued, "She doesn't have a lot of time left."

_No, this can't be._

_Why her? Why? Why? Why?_

"This… it can't—"

He couldn't even bring himself to finish his sentence.

"If you don't believe it, why don't you go to the hospital and see for yourself?"

But Zenzou knew he wouldn't though. After a few seconds, the ninja got up from his seat, his magazine tucked under one arm. His guest probably won't be leaving anytime soon.

"I'll take my leave then."

For the next thirty minutes, the room resounded with a loud cry; one filled with so much agony, grief, and regret. And anyone who had passed by would have wondered who had passed away, and that deceased must have been very dear to the one whom was in mourning right now. It's a good thing this room was so secluded.

But to Zenzou, who stayed outside the door, he had thought otherwise.

_"Ah, so this is what a demon sounds like when he's broken and grieving."_

* * *

_**a/n: **__This chapter was inspired by a pixiv fanart/manga that I came across. I remember it stood out to me so much and the fact that it was just a picture made it so much more meaningful. I can't even find the right words to describe how I imagine Gintoki's deep wailing/crying would sound like, but the very thought of it breaks my heart, especially as a scene on paper, it kinda brings a whole new meaning to "sound of silence". I'm actually not 100% sure about the timeline of things, but the movie gave some clues like how victims die in about a month and a half. So in my head-canon for this movie-verse, Gintoki left five years ago to look into the White Plague, and this scene occurs at most two months or weeks before "present-time" Gintoki gets transported into the future._


	3. Chapter 3

**a/n: **A tad-bit heavy on the dialogue side. I apologize for any confusion on who's speaking which part.

* * *

**Chapter 3 – Visions (Gintoki x Tae)**

"_Ane-ue_, do you want me to brush your hair for you?"

"It's okay Shin-chan, I'll just wait for Kyuu-chan to help me with that. I know you're not too good with these sort of things."

"Ah… sorry."

Tae smiled as she reached a hand out towards her brother. Immediately, Shinpachi took a few steps forward and angled his body towards his sister. Her fingers were cold and frail against his cheek, and the young man recalled the many times when he remembered these very same hands were once always warm. There was always a perfect balance of gentleness and firmness to her touch, which defined Shimura Tae so well, being the daughter of a dojo master and a cabaret hostess, but it wasn't the same anymore.

"Thank you, Shin-chan. I know you're busy with your own things, and you're even taking care of me."

Shinpachi covered his older sister's hand with his own, "You're my sister. Of course I would take care of you."

The white-haired (_"T__hey were brown before,"_ Shinpachi would bitterly remind himself) woman dropped her hand and allowed it to rest over her stomach.

"So how is Kagura-chan doing? I haven't seen her for a few days."

"She looked fine the last time I saw her. I heard that her father's visiting again and she had asked him to help her with some training."

Tae frowned, "I hope the guys aren't giving her too hard of a time. She's still just a girl after all."

Shinpachi smiled, "You worry too much _ane-ue_. There's nothing to worry about. She's safe with those guys."

"But with Kondo-san being arrested—"

"**_Ane-ue!_**"

The siblings looked at each other in shock; both of them were surprised by the younger Shimura's sudden outburst.

"_Ane-ue,"_ Shinpachi gritted out as calmly as he could, but anyone can tell that he was far from it by the slight shaking of his frame, "Hijikata-san will keep things in order for now, so please..."

He looked down at his feet, willing himself not to shed any tears today, "Please, just worry about yourself. Please focus on your health for now."

"Okay."

Shinpachi looked up at his sister who smiled serenely at him, "I'll do just that Shin-chan."

* * *

"You have such a sweet younger brother Shimura-san!" The young nurse in charge of her exclaimed as she closed the window, "He's always visiting you."

The older woman smiled, "Even with other people visiting me, he still worries too much."

"There are many people who are supporting you, Shimura-san," The nurse gave her shoulder a gentle pat after tucking her in. "You have to give it your best!"

"I will."

"Alright Shimura-san, as always, just call us if anything happens. I'll turn off the lights now. Good night!"

Tae nodded and thanked the nurse before closing her eyes. What transpired earlier with Shinpachi was still in her mind, and Tae found herself starting to reflect a lot on several things. She knew her brother was blaming himself, even though he had no part in causing her illness. When she was first diagnosed with the White Plague two weeks ago, everyone else around her took the news really hard. It was almost as if they had received a death sentence for themselves, and only Tae herself took the news calmly.

A part of her reasoned that it might be because she had suspected that she had the White Plague, three years ago, when she spotted a few strands of white hair amongst her brown locks. Another part of her simply knew that if she allowed herself to be depressed over this, it would only cause the people around her even more pain. They were already in enough pain ever since Gintoki had disappeared.

_It's been a long five years..._

She didn't remember falling asleep, a few hours perhaps, but Tae found herself waking up from her slumber when she felt a slight breeze. This detail had caused her to frown; the nurse had closed the windows before tucking her into bed, so someone must have—

"G-Gin-san?" The shaking of her own voice surprised her, "Is that you?"

She heard a slight noise to her right, in the direction of the open window. She could make out that someone was standing there, but her deteriorating vision made it difficult to make out any features, especially with the lights out. In spite of her waning strength, Tae tried to get up into a sitting position. Just as she propped herself up with her elbows, she felt a hand on her left shoulder.

Aside from just her movements, Tae felt that her breath had stopped as well. When she finally gave in and laid back against the pillows, the same hand shifted and rested on her left cheek. It wasn't her brother, or the nurse's hand, but it was still a familiar hand. It was a large, calloused hand—the hand of a samurai—but it was also very warm, and very gentle. She could feel her own tears welling up in her eyes.

_"It's him."_ She concluded, "_It's Gin-san. He's alive. He's here."_

However, the fact that he hasn't spoken a word yet had troubled her. It made her question whether or not her mind was playing tricks on her. Or if this was a hallucination or dream.

"Gin-san?"

* * *

He didn't say anything. Couldn't say anything. The very sight of her on the hospital bed, with her hair was as white as snow and her skin was paler than he ever remembered, had rendered him speechless. The moonlight from behind him only make her visage all the worse. Only her eyes remained the same, except she could barely see him. The doctors did say that she was starting to lose her vision.

"I know it's you, Gin-san. Why aren't you saying anything?"

_I can't._

"Why did you leave?"

_I had to._

"Those two... Shin-chan and Kagura-chan, they're trying their best, you know. They couldn't agree with one another, but they both want the same thing. They miss you."

_I know._

"And I miss you too."

_I..._

"Gin-san," His breath was caught in his throat at the sight of her tears spilling to the side.

"I'm dying..."

He closed his eyes, unable to hold back his own tears.

_I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry__._

* * *

_"Otae..."_

_Her eyes widen in shock. Just hearing **his** voice, along with the sensation of something wet falling on her cheeks aside from her own tears added to her surprise._

_"I promise you. I'll fix everything."_

_"Gin-san..."_

_"Just wait alright? Everything will be alright."_

_His warm hand rested on her forehead now._

_"Sleep."_

When Tae woke up the next morning, she noticed that the windows were shut. As she fingered her tear-stained cheeks, she wondered to herself whether last night's encounter had been a reality or a dream. But whether it had been real or not, she knew in her heart that Gintoki was alive and still out there somewhere.

* * *

**a/n:** Sorry that it was so fragmented. I just felt that adding too many descriptions would take away too much from the dialogue. Most of these chapters start off as a bunch of dialogues (this chapter was built around the semi one-sided conversation between Tae and Gintoki) in which I'm just trying to fill in the blanks with details and some semblance of a story line. I apologize for all this angst—I do have a more light-hearted chapter in progress (again, need to complement all that dialogue I had planned). Thank you for all your feedback! (:


	4. Chapter 4

**a/n:** The chapter title "kami-gata" (髪形・かみがた) means hairstyle.

* * *

**Chapter 4 - Kami-gata (Sougo x Kagura)**

"Did you put a wig on today, China? Your hair's longer. Showing signs of baldness like your old man already?"

The sound of a pair of chopsticks snapping resounded in the room, as all other noise had abruptly stopped. Kagura had mentally berated herself for not tying her hair up in her usual style before heading to the dining hall. Instead, she had opted for brushing the tangles out of her collar-bone length hair before settling down at her usual seat for breakfast.

The girl took a deep breath, willing herself to calm down as she placed her broken chopsticks down. She turned towards the instigator who sat across from her and smirked at him.

"Did you look into a mirror recently? You're starting to look like your sister with your longer hair. Are you in mourning?"

There was a choked sound from her left, but the girl ignored it. Okay, maybe that last comment was a bit too much on the insensitive, should-not-have-said-that category, but Kagura's pride wouldn't allow her to admit that she was wrong. There were some people who would have just called this pride of hers sheer stubbornness though.

Hijikata Toshiro would have called it sheer stupidity; if he weren't so busy trying to dislodge the piece of fish from his throat right now.

And it seemed like her little jab did work a little bit, just from the look on Sougo's slightly irritated face, but he too tried to maintain his deadpan tone. It wouldn't do for him to back down so soon after he started this round.

"You know, if you're trying to increase your sex appeal, I don't think you're going about it the right way."

"Oh yeah? Is that what you're trying to do yourself? Perhaps you should work on your personality first!"

"Would you two just shut up already?"

Without missing a single beat, the both of them turned their heads (and wrath) towards the former Shinsengumi (because "Makotogumi" still sounded so foreign to them) Vice Captain who finally found his voice to yell at them.

"There are people trying to eat here."

Immediately, the other men who sat quietly ever since Sougo first spoke, all turned back to their meals and resumed their quiet chatter.

When the two decided to just glare at each other over the table, Toshiro sighed and decided to just enjoy his Hijikata special breakfast set (which consists mayonnaise-topped rice, mayonnaise-topped mackerel, mayonnaise-topped pickles and mayonnaise-topped miso soup). As long as nothing gets destroyed, he'd gladly just sit back and not intervene.

Six months had passed since the girl from the Yato tribe started staying with them—nine since Sakata Gintoki disappeared (they couldn't bring themselves to admit that he was probably dead). For the first month, she mostly hid in Sougo's closet when she needed a place to sleep after spending a whole day out doing her "Yorozuya duties". It was probably one of the Shinsengumi's worst kept secrets, but everyone else, whether it's out of respect for the missing Sakata Gintoki, or fear of their Vice Captain (or First Squad Captain), they just pretended to ignorant of what was going on.

Things changed soon after their own leader, Kondo Isao, was arrested for reasons they no longer want to dwell upon.

Along with the outbreak of the White Plague, many of the rich, including the Shogun and his family had fled from Earth. The Bakufu had been taken over by a rival group and since then, Edo was no longer the same. The current Bakufu cared more about their own securities and lifestyle than what goes on outside their castle walls. The Shinsengumi no longer had the support and power they once had. They even had to leave their compound, and decided to relocate their residence to an abandoned dojo whose owners fell due to the Plague.

But with all this chaos going on in Edo everyday, they still didn't want to give up their duties of protecting the citizens. So now, they're just a bunch of vigilantes who call themselves the Makotogumi, and their job was not _all_ that different from the Joui Patriots (whose leader was also arrested). Due to their current cirumstances, Toshiro had even stopped threatening everyone to commit _seppuku_ for breaking the _Kyokuchuu Hatto_, but he still reverted back to his Demon Vice Captain mode every now and then when their training and overall conduct was concerned. This environment almost reminded some of the senior Shinsengumi members of the older days when they still lived in the countryside.

A lot has certainly happened in the past six months, so much that Kagura and Sadaharu had became semi-permanent members to their group—no point in hiding anymore since they were the Makotogumi now—so much that both Kagura and Sougo forgot to cut their hair. In fact, aside from Toshiro, many of the other members haven't had the time to go visit the local barber shop for a haircut. Some of them even felt the unkempt look suited their new image.

"So," Toshiro spoke after he finished his soup, "Are you still planning to go to the terminal today?"

Kagura, resumed eating her breakfast, using her soup spoon to replace her broken chopsticks. "Papi says he'll be arriving sometime this week. I should at least be there to update him with what's been going on."

"Sougo, you should go with her."

The girl slammed her spoon down, careful not to break them this time, "I can take care of myself!"

"Well," Sougo smirked, "If I have to choose between disobeying Hijikata-san's orders or annoying you all day. I think I'll enjoy the latter more."

"You Sadist!"

* * *

Kagura fingered her red strands that fell from the pigtails she secured on each side of her head with trademark hair ornaments; her attempt at another hairstyle.

"Papi always told me that I looked exactly like Mami. I only remember her being sick all the time, but she was really beautiful and had really long hair."

Sougo was walking alongside her about several meters away with Sadaharu trailing between the two of them as they headed towards the terminal.

As usual, the streets weren't too crowded; many too afraid to step out of their homes due to the White Plague. No one knew exactly how it spreads, so nobody wanted to take any chances being exposed out of their homes. Of course, there were always the occasional troublemakers, who took advantage of the semi-anarchy state of Edo—another reason for people to stay indoors.

"Never pegged you as the sentimental-type."

"Hmph, I was talking to Sadaharu. Eavesdropper."

It was a lie, but Kagura didn't want to elaborate. She had woke up from a dream and realized that she couldn't remember what her mother looked like anymore. It caused her quite a panic this morning that she had barged out of Sougo's closet (she still couldn't break out of that habit of sleeping in someone's closet) and locked herself in the bathroom for a good hour, just staring at her own reflection in the mirror.

Perhaps it was her visit to Otose's last night and the entire hour she spent there not talking to Shinpachi made everything so bitter. Perhaps all this loneliness was catching up to her again, and the dream just made it worse.

"There's nothing wrong about wanting to remember."

Kagura stopped in her tracks as her eyes locked onto the man who continued walking. After walking a few steps, he stopped and turned towards her.

She was about to speak up but stopped when she saw a few figures ahead of them, several meters away from Sougo. The latter didn't miss the slight narrowing of her eyes and he had turned around. There were a few thugs, all wearing masks and carrying various weapons.

"Looks like Hijikata-san wasn't wrong to worry after all."

"This is hardly something to worry over."

One of the thugs, a masked man with a ponytail pointed at them, "Boss! Those are the two kids who messed with us yesterday!"

The boss, who was also masked and sported a mohawk, stepped forward.

"You two sure have a lot of nerve to disrupt our trades."

"Trades?" Sougo turned towards Kagura, "Oi, China. Got any idea what they're talking about?"

"All I remember was beating up a couple of overgrown men bullying an old lady for her money."

"Oh, that's right. I remember that black eye then."

"You'll pay for this!"

And for the next few minutes, the two fell back into the familiar pattern of fighting side-by-side, which was something they seemed to be doing rather often as of late. Toshiro had been pairing them up when sending out groups to help patrol Kabuki-cho. So when trouble like this comes along, they put their differences aside to put their opponents in their places.

They were now down to one opponent each, Sougo facing the boss, and Kagura facing his right-hand man. In the back of her mind, it was a bit of a let-down seeing how this place has deteriorated so much that these sort of people are causing all sorts of trouble. Nine months ago, these people wouldn't have the gall to do something like this. Then again, nine months ago, Kondo Isao, Katsura Kotarou and Sakata Gintoki wouldn't have allowed this to happen.

Kagura shifted to the side just as her opponent's knife sailed towards a vital point on her head, but it managed to knock one of her hair ornaments off, along with a good length of one of her pigtails.

"China!"

Sougo delivered a swift kick to his opponent's stomach, the impact had caused the leader's body flying into her opponent's, sending them both into a wall of an abandoned store. Quickly shoving her loose hair from her face, Kagura jumped back pointed the end of her umbrella towards both enemies and fired at the spot above them. This caused the awning to collapse on their fallen enemies. It was then, when other reinforcements from the Makotogumi, lead by Yamazaki, finally came and started rounding up the other thugs and started tying them up.

The Yato-girl slumped to the ground, her umbrella fully opened once again to shield herself from the sun's rays.

She glanced up at Sougo who crouched down besides her; their eyes met.

"Hey China, let's have a contest and see who can grow their hair out the longest."

Kagura frowned, "Don't I have the advantage?"

Grinning, the man rested his chin on his hand that was propped onto one knee, "Well, seeing how the guy did chop off some of your hair earlier, I'd call it a handicap rather than an advantage, you're probably destined to lose a lot of your hair like your father."

"Fine!" The girl barked back, "Loser will have to be a slave for the winner for a whole month!"

Dropping his hand, he extended it towards her, "Two."

Kagura grasped his hand, "Deal!"

She felt the other hand giving her a tug and heaving her back up on her two feet. The Yato girl turned her head over her shoulder as she brushed the dust off the back of her outfit. The action caused her just-cut hair to fall in front of her face again, which irritated her a bit.

"Hey Sadist," Kagura brushed her hair to the side again, "I can't find my hair ornament... did you see it?"

"No, but it's not like you'll even need it anymore. Unless you need it to cover up a bald spot."

Yamazaki looked in Kagura and Sougo's direction as they continued towards their destination. He had seen the aforementioned object earlier. When they were rounding up the troublemakers, he had Sougo picking it up and tucking it into the folds of his yukata. Perhaps the sandy-haired man was planning to use it as blackmail material, which wasn't surprising, considering that it's Okita Sougo.

"Forget it, just shut up already!"

* * *

**a/n:** A little break of sorts from the angst and it is truly just a "little" because the plot bunnies I'm currently sorting through seem to lean towards the angst, hurt/comfort-direction. Also, this was actually the original "Chapter 3" before I uploaded "Visions" (originally "Chapter 4") in its place, which explains the misnaming of the previous chapter. Thanks for all your reviews and feedback :)

Also, Kagura's "current" hairstyle in this chapter would be similar to the one during the fake Timeskip arc but a bit shorter (which featured Bakaiser-Sougo). And this would explain her asymmetrical hairstyle for the movie, except I kinda forgot that she does change her hairstyle later on... so I made up a scenario in my head on how she eventually gets it back, so there will be a chapter dedicated to that, eventually.


	5. Chapter 5

**a/n: **Title "ohaka-mairi" (お墓参り) means "grave-visit"

* * *

**Chapter 5 - Ohaka-mairi**

"Oi, Granny..."

A few people flinched from the tone of Kagura's voice. Gone was the jubilant and child-like ring, replaced by a voice of contained anger that was waiting to explode just like the overcast skies that blanketed the area. Shinpachi, who stood several feet away from her, vaguely recalled a few times the red-haired girl sounded like that. He understood her current feelings all too well because he felt the same too.

He stared ahead at the spot where everyone had gathered around just as Kagura started speaking again.

"What is the meaning of this?"

Otose pulled her pipe away from her lips and exhaled a plume of smoke.

"It's Gintoki's gravestone. What else does it look like to you?"

And instantly, everything seemed to explode.

**_"You old hag!"_**

Had it not been for Tama and Catherine standing protectively in front of their boss lady, or Toshiro holding Kagura back, the latter would have probably made sure that the older lady had exploded into bits by now. Shinpachi was surprisingly calm, thanks to his older sister's presence who provided some comfort for him. If not, he would've voiced his tumultuous feelings by now.

"You're giving up on Gin-chan! How could you?!" Kagura screamed, while kicking her legs out since the man behind her was hauling her back by both arms. If she hadn't lost grasp of her folded umbrella during the struggle, she would've made good use of it right now.

"Oi, Sougo! A little help here!" Toshiro grunted, his cigarette nearly slipping from his lips. The younger man was leaning back against a tree, but he showed no desire or intention to move, or to even speak. He simply stood there, observing, just like the few other Kabuki-cho members whom Otose had invited to come here today. Only Tae moved to make an attempt to placate the younger girl, once she was sure that her brother wasn't going to join in on the mini-riot. Yamazaki too had moved in closer, having taken the hint from the glare his Vice Captain was directing towards him.

"You think I _want_ to do this?!" Otose yelled back, angrily waving her pipe, which caused its contents to fall out.

"Then why? Why are you doing this?!"

Kagura could feel her face flush in anger as she let out several expletives, partly at Otose, and partly directed towards Yamazaki who made an attempt to grab her legs before she uprooted the other tombstones in her rampage.

But most of all, her anger was towards the gray slab of stone was mocking her.

_I should've have known..._

As well as name on said-stone (and the one who owned it) that was mocking her as well.

_Why else would they all be here right now?_

The older woman sighed, "It's only the right thing to do, stupid girl!"

The girl opened up her mouth to say something, but she stopped when a body walked past her.

"Here you go, _danna._"

Kagura gaped at the carton of strawberry milk that was placed right in front of the gravestone. She felt Toshiro releasing his hold on her since she had stopped struggling. Dropping her arms to her side, Kagura looked up and glared at the man who now stood in front of her.

"You knew about this already didn't you?" She spat, loathing this man more than she ever thought possible, "Otherwise, you wouldn't be carrying a carton of strawberry milk with you."

The girl looked around, noticing the dark attire that most of them were wearing, "Everyone else knows right?"

She was the single sore thumb that stood out with her red hair and clothing. Even Shinpachi wore a dark color today, and she felt betrayed more than ever. But she didn't know that Shinpachi hadn't known about the nature of Otose's invitation either, and his sister was the one who urged him to forgo his usual attire today. The red-haired girl turned her attention back to Sougo.

"If he returns, we can just look back at this and laugh about it like a bunch of idiots."

Sougo looked up when he felt the first few drops of rain wetting his face. Bending down, he picked up the forgotten purple umbrella and opened it up.

"But if he really is dead," Kagura reflexively raised her hand to catch her umbrella by the handle when he pressed it against her shoulder, "Then we should pay him the respect that he deserves."

And with that, Sougo had excused himself and left. When the rain started to pick up, several others had left after they had finished paying their respects to the newly erected gravestone, some of which had promised to return with sweet offerings at another time. Eventually, the only ones left were Otose, Catherine, Tama, Shinpachi, Tae and Kagura herself.

No one bothered to check how much time had passed before they heard a sob. Their downcast eyes turned towards the girl in red whose eyes were still drawn to the ground, and her body shaking with every sob. The sobs grew louder and louder, and at one point, she had tilted her umbrella back and continued bawling and wailing up at the sky. And this was the first time they all heard Kagura crying so hard, like a child who had lost everything that was dear to her.

Another sob had joined her when Tae could no longer hold back her own tears. Even Otose, Catherine and Shinpachi joined in with their tears and hiccuped crying. Only Tama, who stood there watching them, didn't cry since she was incapable of doing so. But to any outsider, the droplets of rain that slid down the robot's face could have passed for tears as well.

* * *

"Couldn't you have been a little bit nicer?" Toshiro asked from his spot under the weeping willow which provided some shelter from the slight downpour. The dark-haired man momentarily glanced towards the direction where Gintoki's grave now stood. He couldn't see them from where he stood now due to the number of trees, graves, and just the general way the cemetery was designed, but he knew that a few of them were still there.

"Why? She wouldn't have wanted my pity anyway."

The dark-haired man looked at the white flowers that Sougo left in front of the gravestone. His gaze softened at the beloved name that was etched on the cold gray stone: Okita Mitsuba.

"Hijikata-san, even if she's not here to yell at you, I'd greatly appreciated if you didn't smoke in front of my sister's grave."

"It's not even lit."

Even so, Toshiro found himself removing the cigarette from his lips and pocketing it. Satisfied, the younger man turned around and smiled fondly at his sister's gravetone, "_Ane-ue, _if you see _danna_, please make sure to give him a good beating for all of us."

Toshiro found himself sharing the same smile, "We'll visit again soon."

With a final glance towards the direction of the other gravestone they were visiting just several minutes before, the two men left.

* * *

**a/n: **This was definitely angst on all-levels, even down the last scene (which was a last minute addition that came out of nowhere!). Sorry ;_;

Question: Would it be preferred if I used "Hijikata" instead of "Toshiro"? I don't mind going back to change them all if the former is preferred. I had intended to keep first names for everyone for the sake of consistency, but then at one point when I typed "Yamazaki" for this chapter, I realized that I didn't want to change it to "Suguru" since it sounded more impersonal (oddly, haha) since I'm just so used to his last name and same for other fans too. And down the line, if I ever want to throw in Katsura or Kondo, I don't think I ever want to use "Kotarou" or "Isao" when referring to them. Toshiro is kinda in-between because even with Hijikata being the more familiar name, he gets referred as Toshi enough for his first name not to be so awkward or out-of-place. Also in my mind, if I refer to Okita as Sougo, then I just find that it makes sense to refer to Hijikata as Toshi (but Yamazaki will still be Yamazaki... even Kondo will still be Kondo).

And a little warning, future chapters from now on will come rather slowly, but I'll try my best! Thanks for all the feedback (:


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